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Kamiya Kaoru
Kamiya Kaoru is the young proprietor and acting instructor of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū kenjutsu dojo in Tokyo and the female lead of the Rurouni Kenshin series. After meeting and being rescued by the rurouni Himura Kenshin, Kaoru allows him to stay in her dojo and effectively puts an end to his ten years of wandering with her kindness. Though their relationship initially begins as one of mutual gratitude and respect, Kaoru essentially serves as Kenshin's primary motivating factor and the anchor to his shattered self-worth, slowly becoming a love interest. Appearance Kaoru is slender with a youthful, girlish face but has the lean build of a young woman engaged in regular physical activity. She has large blue eyes and her sleek, black hair (usually accented with a bluish or purple shine in the anime) hangs to mid-back length when worn down, but is usually tied in a high ponytail so as to accommodate her kenjutsu practice. Additionally, Kaoru sports a thick fringe of slightly curled bangs which hang past her eyebrows and are parted neatly in the middle as well as a few strands of shoulder-length hair in front of her ears. In training or combat, Kaoru dresses rather simply with a slightly worn, off-white uwagi and a hakama of a darker color (usually navy blue) while a sarashi wrapping covers and supports her upper torso. In normal social settings, however, Kaoru displays a great fondness for fashionably colorful, patterned kimonos and always ties her ponytail with a large, colorful ribbon - her favorite of which is apparently a vibrant indigo-blue. At the end of the manga series, Kaoru has cut her ponytail so as to carry herself with a more motherly or womanly demeanor. Personality Obstinate and strong-willed, Kaoru carries with her all the pride and strength of her samurai lineage and, as such, is often quite a force to be reckoned with. Fiercely independent, she will gladly put her blood, sweat, tears and even life on the line in order to protect her father's legacy, her hard-earned belongings and her precious friends with her own hands. Believing wholeheartedly in the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū's ideal of katsujin-ken (swords that protect life), Kaoru has great faith in the potential, honor and artistry of kenjutsu and rejects with equal fervor the idea that swords exist only to do harm and take life - satsujin-ken. Kaoru also has a fiery, violent temper which she displays without restraint when she feels that she has been slighted or insulted, often flying into a wild frenzy if her first blow does not settle the matter. Unfortunately, she is also quite childish and largely incapable of coming up with witty verbal retorts if struck with an insult that hits too close to her true shortcomings, further prompting her to violence. Even so, her most unique personal trait is that she is quick to see the good in others, even when it is hidden deep beneath the surface, and is always ready with a kind word of encouragement when she sees an opportunity to help. Her strength, like her father's kenjutsu philosophy, exists for the sake of the people around her and she will not hesitate to lend her samurai spirit to others in need. Though some may call her naïve for sticking to such a credo while surrounded by more selfish people in such trying times, her sense of duty and honor will not let her give up under any circumstances. Despite her compulsion toward swords and her rough-handed nature, Kaoru also has a strong feminine side. She has a great appreciation for fine clothes and art as well as a strong taste for good food (particularly Western gyūnabe). Kaoru is unapologetic about her masculine athleticism, but worries about her looks, thinking herself too plain to be attractive. She becomes embarrassed and flustered when drawn into adult conversations and, though she waves aside the idea of being in a romantic relationship, she is particularly possessive of Kenshin and becomes markedly jealous when it appears another woman may be getting close to him. However, Kaoru remains shy and uncertain about her true feelings for Kenshin for much of the series, either becoming emotionally overwhelmed or putting on a thin mask of indifference whenever it is suggested that she and he may be an item. More than anything, Kaoru fears that Kenshin's hitokiri nature may resurface, forcing him to return to his wandering and leave her all alone once more. Faced with this possibility, Kaoru often finds herself at a loss when the "Battōsai" peeks through, her willpower giving way to despair and a sense of helplessness. With the help of her friends, however, she regains her strength in short order and discovers that she must be the one to help Kenshin keep his past self in check. In the story, Kaoru is often compared to a tanuki (raccoon dog). Relationships * Kenshin: Moving gradually from dear friends to love interests to husband and wife, Kaoru and Kenshin share a relationship that serves as one of the largest focal points of the series. Having initially been rescued from death, dishonor and loneliness, Kaoru greatly values Kenshin's company after he appears in her life and is rather insistent that he stay. Though Kenshin at first sees Kaoru as being equally important to any other person, her remarkable assertion that Kenshin's past is unimportant in relation to his present self convinces him in short order that Kaoru is particularly special. On the other hand, his expressed hope that Kaoru's philosophy of katsujinken will someday become the reality for all Japanese swordsmen gives her the confidence she needs to face the hardships in her path. * Yahiko: Kaoru and Yahiko have a brother-and-sister-relationship, thus the two of them are often seen butting heads with each other. Despite that however, the two of them have a lot of respect for each other for their respective skills. * Megumi: Megumi and Kaoru had a very rocky relationship at the start of the series. This mostly because the two of them both had strong feelings for Kenshin and thus, they both wanted him. Despite that though, Kaoru has a lot of respect for Megumi due to her abilities as a doctor. Kaoru states, during the final part of the manga, that she has a lot of admiration for Megumi, due to her strong willed personality. Abilities Though diligent in maintaining her own sense of duty and discipline, Kaoru is evidently quite unskilled at domestic practices like household chores. In both cooking and cleaning, she is decidedly inferior to Kenshin and, in particular regard to her culinary skills, several characters have remarked that she has absolutely no cooking talent. Indeed, all of Kamiya Kaoru's abilities and talents lie in the realm of the martial arts. In keeping with her position as interim master of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū style of kenjutsu, Kaoru's swordsmanship is highly regarded by all the other dojos in the Tokyo area and it has been stated by the creator that, while her combat skills are dwarfed by fighters of Kenshin or Sanosuke's caliber, they are at a level equivalent or superior to that of a "national-level champion". Her high comprehension of her father's style and kenjutsu in general lends itself to her proficiency with improvisational tactics, basic hand-to-hand combat and kenjutsu instruction. She has also shown to be very analytical in battle. She is able to quickly deduce the mechanics of an opponent's technique and use it to her advantage. This was shown when she figured out Henya's flight technique was done by conditioning his body down into skin and bones to make himself light enough to fly with his wings and also when she figured out how Otowa's Bishamonken worked using magnetic force. History Kamiya Kaoru is a 17-year-old dojo instructor that is shown in the first episode/chapter of the anime/manga. She is also the first main character that Kenshin will meet. She is the owner of the Kamiya Dojo after her father died during the war and the teacher of Yahiko who is currently teaching him the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū style. After Kenshin defended Kaoru from the fake Battosai, she invites him to live at the dojo, She then had developed feelings for Kenshin as she soon starts to fall in love with him yet she violently denies it. She recognizes that Kenshin, despite of his violent past and being the Battosai, is a gentle soul who only wants peace by atoning for the lives he stole during the revolution. Although, personality-wise, she is very different than Tomoe, Kenshin's first love because of their personalities (Kaoru is loud, insecure and she can't cook anything tasty). At the end of the series, she and Kenshin will marry as they have a son named Kenji. Appearances in other media Reflection In Samurai X: Reflection, Kenshin and Kaoru are married, but he decides to wander again, returning to her every couple of years because he still feels the need to help others. Kaoru allows him to go, promising to welcome him home with a smile and their child. Kenshin eventually becomes ravaged by an unknown disease; to share his pain, Kaoru convinces Kenshin to share his disease with her through sexual intercourse. Kenshin then leaves to assist in the First Sino-Japanese War as he had promised the Meiji Government, not fighting and killing, but instead helping people. When he returns to Japan after a prolonged absence and they finally meet again, Kenshin collapses into her arms as he clutches her to him. Kaoru notices Kenshin's scar has faded away, signifying his death. Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story In the original, "pilot" issue of Rurouni: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story, first published in 1992, Kaoru is the sister of Megumi and Yahiko. As the unrefined brainchild of artist Nobuhiro Watsuki, many of the story's details changed during the transition to serialized, mainstream manga. Games Kaoru also appears in all Rurouni Kenshin video games but in most as a supporting character including also Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars. In the Live-action film Kaoru was played by Emi Takei in the live action movie . In the movie, she first meets Kenshin whom she "mistakes" as hitokiri battousai. Development and reception Watsuki said that he used "no specific model" and "no specific motif" when designing Kaoru. He said that if he had to name one model, he would point to Chiba Sanako of Ryōma no Koibito. He wished to include the "commanding" quality from Sasaki Mifuyu (佐々木 三冬) of Shōtarō Ikenami's Kenkaku Shōbai (JA). According to Watsuki, Kaoru became a "plain, regular girl" despite the "commanding" quality. By the compilation of Volume 1 in Japan he believed that the character model worked and stated that many female readers of Rurouni Kenshin identified with Kaoru. He had not decided at the time on whether Kaoru should be Kenshin's love interest. Watsuki wished that he could design Kaoru "more cutely" and to be "more fashionable" but decided to tone down those qualities as he felt that she needed to express "down-to-earth" and financially "poor" characteristics as well. Watsuki described her ponytaill hairstyle as "de rigueur" for a girl who practices kendo. Watsuki says that he enjoys drawing Kaoru and that filling in her hair is "sometimes a pain." At the end of Rurouni Kenshin Kaoru gets a new hairstyle. Watsuki felt that Kaoru would not look like herself without her ponytail, but that her original hair style did not appear like what a mother would wear, so he created a variation for the ending. When some female readers told Watsuki that they could not decide whether Kaoru exhibited strength or weakness as a fighter, Watsuki responded by saying that Kaoru is "quite independent for her age" and could easily "hold her own" against many dojo masters in town, making her a national-level champion at least, although even this level appeared weak compared to Kenshin and Sagara Sanosuke. Kaoru has been highly popular with the Rurouni Kenshin reader base, placing between fourth and fifth in every popularity poll. Watsuki describes Tomo Sakurai's CD drama voice as "not too airhead-y," "not too high," and "not too low." Merchandise based on Kaoru has also been released, including plushes, keychains, and sweat bands. In an interview with Miki Fujitani, who is the seiyū for Kaoru, comments that in the OVAs series Kaoru is a brave woman totally different from her original version. Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other media have good response on Kaoru's character. When T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews writer Carlos Ross gave nicknames to the characters of Rurouni Kenshin he called Kaoru "a spirited girl". Megan Lavey from Mania Entertainment says that the manga version of Kaoru is "a lot wiser" than the anime version. In About.com "Top 8 Anime Love Stories", Kaoru and Kenshin's relationship ranked 8th with Katherine Luther noting it a "classic romance." Kaoru's character in the Reflection OVA series received many negative responses. Efrain Diaz, Jr. from IGN comments that some of Kenshin and Kaoru's private moments in Reflection are touching, and some are depressing. Anime News Network's Mike Crandol comments that Kaoru is the least successful visual character redesign in the Reflection OVA in contrast to the manga version's "distinctive girlish charm", and that "the creators tried too hard to make her look like Tomoe." Trivia *Kaoru shares her given name with Kurosaki Kaoru, the wife of Watsuki Nobuhiro. *She is played by Takei Emi in the live action film. Category:Characters Category:Kenshin-Gumi Category:Swordsman Category:Female